Rob Marshall, one time sonic backbone of the stupendous Exit Calm, has surfaced under the pseudonym Humanist. I could cut this review short by stating that the eponymous album is a belter, so buy it, turn up the volume and enjoy. Of course life is a bit more complicated than that and so is the […]
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Shiiine On Birmingham @ O2 Academy 8th September 2018
Shiiine On has come to Birmingham. Normally a three-day extraganza of indie music that takes place annually at Butlins in Minehead, Shiiine On is a gilt edged 90s nostalgia success story of alternative, indie and dance music. The question has always been whether it would be sustainable, given that there is not an endless conveyor […]
Album Review – Idles – Joy as an Act Of Resistance
Joy as an Act Of Resistance is the second album from genre-defying Bristolian outfit Idles. Well they are genre-defying to me at any rate. Are they punk? Are they some sort of Indie? Are they just some form of rawk? I don’t really know what label applies but if a tsunami of rage, sarcasm, laser […]
Vinny Peculiar – Return Of The Native
This Vinny Peculiar album has proved something of a challenge. Not in a negative way mind you. I’m not generally quite so tardy when it comes to reviews but somehow I’ve had to revisit Return Of The Native several times just to get to put fingers to keyboard. That’s not a bad thing as all […]
The Wedding Present + Dexy @ o2 Academy, 25th May 2018
Following The Wedding Present can be an addiction. A recent thread on Facebook highlighted that several people have seen this band play a serious number of times, whilst others can’t understand why anyone would “want to see a group more than once a year”. Being one of the former group of people (call me sad […]
Field Music + Mary Epworth, O2 Institute
Reviews of recent Field Music gigs always seem to start on one observation. David Brewis is manning the merch stand! The inference is that the Brewis brothers and their band members are somehow only taking to the stage on the way to a food bank. To me, band members being jacks of all trades is an increasingly […]
Nightmare Air – Fade Out
Time flies by in the wonderful world of the #realbirminghamlive and the appearance of the new album by Nightmare Air is testament to that. Some Mancunian bloke once wrote: the passing of time and all of its crimes is making me sad again. Not that I’m particularly sad, in general or about the release of Fade Out. […]
Bowling For Soup Get Happy Tour, 13th February 2018
As the ‘Get Happy Tour’ has made it’s way to Birmingham’s O2 Academy; with the line up featuring Army of Freshmen, The Aquabats and being headlined by Bowling For Soup it was sure to be a night filled with pop punk fun. When we arrived 10 minutes before doors even opened we could see the […]
The Damned @ o2 Academy, 1st February 2018
Tonight, I approach The Damned with wary anticipation. I’m not adverse to legacy acts as readers of some of my previous reviews will be aware. Positively some of the best gig nights for me have been had when watching reformed bands from my youth. The last time I saw them was possibly 15 years ago […]
Mark Lanegan @ Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton, 29th November 2017
For the latest round of dates, Mark Lanegan has called into Wolverhampton to play the Wulfrun Hall. Like her sister building, the Civic, she is undergoing extensive works, but from first glance it appears exactly the same as it’s always been. The staff assure me work is going on behind the scenes. Mark Lanegan has […]
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